Twitter admits to tracking users' activities

The company made the disclosure in an email sent to its users about changes to its service and privacy policy.

LONDON: Micro blogging website Twitter has revealed that it tracks its users' movements across the internet in order to suggest relevant content to tweeters.

The company made the disclosure in an email sent to its users about changes to its service and privacy policy.

"We've provided more details [in our new privacy policy] about the information we collect and how we use it to deliver our services and to improve Twitter," the email read.

"One example: our new tailored suggestions feature, which is based on your recent visits to websites that integrate Twitter button or widgets, is an experiment that we're beginning to roll out to some users in a number of countries," it added.

The company further explained the collection of users' data across third party websites that have a Twitter button installed in its updated privacy policy, The Telegraph reports.

"We may tailor content for you based on your visits to third-party websites that integrate Twitter buttons or widgets... While we have the widget data, we may use it to tailor content for you, such as suggestions for people to follow on Twitter," it said.

"Tailored content is stored with only your browser cookie ID and is separated from other Widget Data such as page-visit information," it added.

According to the paper, Twitter also offered its users the chance to turn off this feature.

After a maximum of 10 days, Twitter begins the process of deleting or "aggregating widget data, which is usually instantaneous, but in some cases may take up to a week".

The update to its privacy policy comes after Twitter came under fire earlier this year for copying the content of peoples' entire address books from their mobile phones and storing the information on its servers, without many of its users realising.